After market clutch lever

[larrycole]

As I get older I find that I have more difficulty in pulling in the clutch lever on my 1976 GL1000. Cable routing is fine and it engages and disengages well, but with heavy gloves it's getting to be a struggle. Does anyone have experience with an after market lever that rests closer to the grip? Is there enough adjustment in the cable to work with a different lever? This is not a restored bike - I've been riding it since I bought it from a friend in 1984.

[Magonsterz]

May be able to adapt? worth a shot if you have some fab skills and willing to eat cost to experiment.

https://www.revzilla.com/dirt-bike/moos ... tch-system

[larrycole]

Magonsterz - this would help with the pull effort, but the end of my lever is still 5" from the grip. I wear XL gloves, so my hands aren't small, but it's still a stretch. I'm looking for something with a step in the curve that will fit the existing pivot, or a new assembly that works with the existing cable.

[Magonsterz]

im wondering since it appears to be a torque multiplier if the throw is shortened as well allowing to bring stock lever in a bit and backspace on the return travel, didnt dig into manufacturer details yet.

[DenverWinger]

Maybe need to lube the clutch cable?

[larrycole]

Clutch cable is lubed and smooth - issue is distance of pull. I find plenty of replacements online, but they're all exactly like the 44 year old original I have. Need something like this but would like neutral switch to still work.

[Magonsterz]

modify perch to roll base back to shorten finger reach distance? Im sure only as far as it will still allow full clutch disengage.

[larrycole]

Not sure how the perch could be modified. It's a cast piece and I wouldn't want to take a drill or hacksaw to something original to the bike when it rolled off the assembly line in 1976.

[Maz]

You should be able to pick up a dog-leg lever, like the one in the picture, on its own, to fit the original perch. If not, you could probably just drill a hole in the new perch for the clutch switch.
Maz

[WingAdmin]

I've used aftermarket adjustable levers to do exactly this. The last time I did it was for my wife's PC800, putting adjustable brake and clutch levers on it to allow for her small hands. The trick is finding ones that fit your bike.

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=adjustable+c ... ingdocs-20

[larrycole]

Thanks wingadmin - some of these look great. Looks like the critical measurements would be the size of the pivot hole and the length. OEMs are pretty long due to the electrical clusters before the grip. Anyone else already gone through this process for their GL1000? Many of these come from China and would take 5 weeks or so for delivery.

[Magonsterz!]

if you could find someone pretty handy with a tig machine, id say measure min distance travel needed, cut and reweld to shorten reach distance, some grinding and powder coating and would look factory to the naked eye but you'd have to be confident with fab work.

Maybe even loosen cable barrel nut adjustment on perch, shim the return gap with A/B compound (clay epoxy) to keep lever (open) closer to reach after verifying engagement travel min.

[larrycole]

An update - I found a set of levers on eBay for the GL1000. Should be here in a week or so and I'll post how well they fit and work.

[76GL1000LTD]

How did those levers work out for you? I’m looking for levers that would be closer to the handlebars.

[larrycole]

I ended up selling my '76 two years ago - I couldn't reliably hold the clutch springs in and it was too dangerous for me to ride. I bought a '94 PC800 with hydraulic clutch and have been happy with it (water cooled, shaft drive, and a little lighter). I did find adjustable short levers for it from a VFR. There seemed to be more choices available for cable clutches, so you just need to make sure the pivot hole is the same.